dead weight. sirius black.

eight.

madam pomfrey stared in shock.

then she sighed,
and she said,
"we have to tell dumbledore,"

and unfortunately,
we agreed.

they told yara,
after the whole of the professors gathered around,
that she was to be given an extension
on her homework and such,
all the boring shit.
slughorn muttered something about irresponsibility mcgonagall pinched him for.

yara left in an embarrassed flush.

three weeks.

i have three weeks to get out of this situation.
next week we go home for christmas,
but i don't want to go home.
i think you got my hint
two weeks ago in the kitchens.
i'm not sure if you know what's happening,
but you know i dont want to go home.
so i sit next to you on the astronomy tower.
ten pm sharp.

you take a deep breath.
its a bit unnerving,
how quiet you are.
remus told me you had been on edge for quite a while.
i want to ask why,
but im damn sure you'd redirect the question onto another topic.

"don't go home." you say,
its small and vulnerable.
your voice cracks at the word home.
"come—come with me. come to the potters with me, goldie. we—we can go get your stuff or whatever you don't have to stay forever just stay long enough so i know you're safe,"

and i nod.
i think i found
another reason.

yara sent a letter to her parents.
a howler dropped in her hands this morning.

before she could stand and scurry out of the hall with me in tow,
it jumps out of her frail hands and bursts open in front of our eyes.
words that weren't at all necessary,
curses,
disbelieving shrieks and too many reprimands later,
the hall is quiet when the words of yara's mother echoes out into the room.
"AND DON'T BOTHER COMING HOME UNLESS IT'S TO PACK YOUR BAGS AND LEAVE!"
everyone is silent.
from across the hall at the slytherin table,
ferdinand averts his gaze.

yara is frozen.
her hands are shaking.
im gaping,
i know.
eileen taps my shoulder and im knocked face first into reality.
tawn, my owl, had dropped a letter in my hand.
i shoved it into my robes and pulled yara out of her seat hastily.
everyone,
everyone,
was staring.
davina slammed her hand onto the table and stood.
"what the fuck are you looking at?" at the feared slytherins words, almost everyone looks away.
almost.
in a raged fury,
she flipped off the student body.
mcgonagall chased after her as she stomped down the hall.
detention,
for quite a while im assuming.

i usher yara out of the hall quickly.
she didn't seem too torn up about the fact that she just got disowned,
maybe it wasn't her biggest worry.
or she was just in shock from the whole ordeal.
embarrassed that everyone now knew.
she bites her nail anxiously.
i pull her into the nearest empty classroom.
"what am i going to do?
where am i going to stay?
what the fuck is happening?"
she threw her hands up in a frenzy.
in shock,
im concluding.

i trip over my next words.
"i—uh—well—you can stay with me,"
my voice comes out a pathetic squeak.

"but—your—your parents,"
she says softly.
i know she wants to accept.

im looking anywhere but her.
"i'm not,"
i lean onto the desk next to me.
"im not staying at home for the meanwhile."

she furrows her eyebrows.
"so where are you staying, then?"
her voice was purely curious.

"uh—potters, with sirius."
i don't realize how quiet my voice is until she leans closer to hear better.
her eyes light up when it processes.
"really? would they let me?"
she asks weakly.
"they can't say no to me.
i mean,
i'm me."
i joke.
it feels a bit odd on my tongue.
foreign,
but nice.

yara grins.
"i love you,
marigold!
oh,
i do!
i do!" she cheers.
throwing herself at me.
the door creaks open and the group of six stumbles in.

"did you just propose?" james gapes.
remus thumps him over the head.
peter claps as if someone did really get engaged.
vega rolls his eyes and slaps his hands down.
"they didn't actually, idiot,"
he hisses.
peter grows red.

"everything good?"
eileen asks,
her voice is honey smooth.
james wraps her in his arms and she swats him away with a grimace.
davina leans into remus.
im supposing she got away without too much of a telling off.
your leaned against the doorway
looking mighty confused.

"yeah.
were okay."
yara looks relieved they're not asking any questions.
"um,
ive got a teensy favor to ask."
i grin.
it feels like putty on my cheeks.

list of things to fight to live for.
one: yara livingston offspring ( in turn, yara. )
two: remus lupin and his little chocolate kisses he brings from home.
three: your friends smiles.
four: punching nando wildflower again and again.
five: you, i guess.

thirty five seconds to drown,
five to decide its worth it.